In Person!

InterPlay In-Person Leaders Gathering July 2024

Come gather with us in Seattle!
Sacil Armstrong, Masankho Banda, Agnotti Cowie, Sharie Bowman, Christine Gautreaux, MSW, Carolyn Renée, and Kawika Harold Costa

Seattle, WA

Wed dinner – Sunday lunch, July 3rd - July 7th

It's time for the 2024 in-person Leaders Gathering! Join us for deep play in a beautiful university setting in downtown Seattle, Washington.


We will gather at Seattle University. The event will be limited to 100 people, given the size of the main meeting/play space.


Bring your own ideas for workshops to be set up on the spot. Have a chance to organize conversations with other leaders about InterPlay issues that move you. Get new skills for education, spirituality, racial equity and transformation, art-making and leading your life. Discover new forms!

Lots of opportunities to play, create, perform, connect, converse, eat and relax. And laugh!

This event is open to all Life Practice Program and Leader Training Program grads as well as those currently taking part in either program (or who took part in earlier versions of either program).

Cost

Registrations are now closed.


If you missed out on this year's Leaders Gathering in Seattle, watch for the listing for the 2025 Leaders Gathering in Racine, WI, and plan ahead!


(No more refunds are available.)


Covid policy: We may require Covid testing every morning for everyone’s safety. Details around this still being clarified.

Cost: Registrations are now closed. Watch the website for dates for the 2025 in-person Leaders Gathering!

Registration/Information: Contact Lucia at office@interplay.org with registration questions.

Venue

Seattle University Ecumenical Chapel

901 12th Ave Campion Hall
Seattle, WA 98122
The Ecumenical Chapel is located in Campion Hall which is near the intersection of E. Jefferson and 10th Ave. There is a parking garage that charges a fee adjacent to it. You can also find free on-street parking a fee blocks away in the adjoining neighborhoods.
Leaders
Sacil Armstrong

For nearly thirty years, Sacil (Suh-SEEL) Armstrong has combined facts, self-care, respect, and embodied practices to guide people through tough discussions on topics like racism and oppression, so InterPlay was a natural fit. Her focus on mental/emotional wellness first helps clients get out of their heads and into their bodies so they can actively listen, accept facts they might otherwise avoid, and embrace personal change to support human rights.

Her roles in marketing for a regional science museum, public relations and adult programming for a library system, and leading a grassroots movement to reduce violent crime in a low-income, high crime “neighborhood” of 30,000 people prepared her for her current deep community and one-on-one engagements. As an award-winning facilitator, community program creator, and Certified InterPlay Leader, she supports clients as they learn to connect with themselves, one another, and information in ways that reshape their thinking, beliefs, and behavior.

Sacil loves music, art, and laughter to set the mood for learning and transformation. She is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, and often combines abstract art as meditation with her social justice work.

Sacil is the founder of the Everyday Activism Habit, a membership community designed to heal with self-care, build confidence with knowledge, and stretch your comfort zone to stand against oppression. Learning and growing in community reminds us we’re not alone.

IG, LinkedIn, Facebook: @TheRealSacil
Masankho Banda

Masankho is a multi - disciplinary Performing Artist, Certified InterPlay Leader, Educator and PeaceBuilder. He brings many unique perspectives to his work around the world. He learned the fine arts of storytelling and dance from his Malawian culture spending many long days and nights listening to stories and dancing to music that captivated his mind, shaped his being, nourished his soul and strengthened his spirit. Using performing arts Masankho motivates and inspires people of all ages to work together to bring about peace, social justice and cultural understanding. In 1997, he started UCanDanc—African Healing Arts to bring his passion for dance and storytelling to communities around the world. Masankho has been a Certified InterPlay Leader since 1999.

Masankho can also be reached at these phone numbers: +265 99 255 5338 or 88 113 8655 (available on Whatsapp / FaceTime)

Also: Skype : kamsisi
Facebook / Twitter: storytelling4u

Agnotti Cowie
Agnotti Cowie (they/them) attended the first ever “Art & Social Change: InterPlay for Millennial Leaders” in 2010. Since, she joined InterPlay’s national board as well as becoming a certified InterPlay leader. Agnotti facilitates workshops worldwide employing a variety of pedagogical techniques such as InterPlay, Theatre of the Oppressed, Devising, puppetry and clown. Currently they are based in Chicago where they lead workshops in schools, organizations and with social movements including as Co-Artistic Director of Opera-Matic, bringing participatory arts to public spaces. Recently, they have taken their work around the globe teaching InterPlay workshops in India, Germany, Australia, and Chile.
Sharie Bowman

Sharie Bowman, MA, LMHC is a Mental Health Counselor and also InterPlay's Regional Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest.  In 2006, Sharie completed her training as an InterPlay leader and also received her degree in mental health counseling, so InterPlay and counseling have been woven together in her bodyspirit from the start.  She finds InterPlay to be foundational in building and maintaining her personal resilience, as well supporting her work with clients.  In her private practice she regularly weaves InterPlay’s life-enhancing forms and philosophies with counseling wisdom to help individuals and families thrive.

Prior to 2006, Sharie worked as a high school math teacher and found InterPlay to be the best Teacher Training she ever received.  The improvisational skills that she developed immediately brought more play, creativity, and expression to her teaching as well as to classroom management.

Now Sharie finds great joy in bringing her organizational and instructional skills to the InterPlay classroom, and she often leads the foundational InterPlay Life Practice Program and mentors new leaders. She relishes sharing the joy of InterPlay far and wide, and supporting each participant in integrating InterPlay into their own lives!

Christine Gautreaux, MSW
Christine (she/her) is dedicated to the pursuit of play, joy, art & social justice. Christine’s superpowers include connecting people, helping folks manifest their dreams, standing up against injustice and using art to make a difference in the world.

She currently uses performance art, movement, poetry, storytelling and InterPlay to address issues of oppression with women who are incarcerated, people living with severe and persistent mental illness and homelessness. She also works with activists and artists to maintain balance and self-care during these intense times we find ourselves living.

Pivoting with the times Christine has been called an expert on Zoom and utilizes this online platform to facilitate connection and ease in an online, interactive learning environment.

Christine Gautreaux holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Social Work. She has professional experience with successful grant writing, community organizing and social media marketing. Christine is a life coach for caregivers who are burnt out and ready to take back their own life and make it delightful again. She is the co-author of Stillpoint: A Caregivers Playbook to find ease and to take a deep breath and reclaim joy and Women Connected in Wisdom: Stories and Resources Rooted in the 8 Dimensions of Wellnes V. I and V. II
Carolyn Renée
Carolyn Renée Morris (she/her) is a teaching and healing artist with more than a decade of service/experience in the creative and healing arts. She’s the former executive director of the ArtsXchange, a 37-year-old art and social change organization, and Alternate ROOTS, a 44-year-old social justice organization lifting up art as activism in the Southeast USA. Carolyn Renée is committed to the pursuit of art and social justice, health, and well-being for BIPOC on the frontlines of advancing justice. She is a certified InterPlay Leader and in 2008 became a health and wellness practitioner to heal herself from an illness which led to combining the healing and creative arts. With InterPlay, she creates Sacred Space for BIPOC and partners with USA/Ghana-based A Life of Peace Wellness Education Institute to ensure every home has an engaged artist/healer. She goes by “Carolyn Renée.”
Kawika Harold Costa
Rev. Kawika (Ka-Vee-ka) Harold Costa first joined InterPlay in 2018 and loved it. As of Feb. 2024 he became a certified InterPlay Leader. He is also a licentiate minister with the Center for Spiritual Living and the President and Co-Artistic Director of Playback Theater Northwest since 1994. He rebuilt the entire troupe in 1996. He was born and raised in Hawaii and is a graduate of the University of Washington in Business Administration. He has been involved with theater since 1975 and his acting credits include many stage plays, movies and TV extra roles for Paramount, Warner Brothers, FOX and NBC. Kawika now lives in the Sandpoint area of Seattle and is known for his warm heart and Polynesian smile. Kawika is grateful to have two incredible children, two stepchildren and four grandchildren. He loves to build community and has a deep inclusive spiritual background. Kawika has already lead InterPlay in his travels to Hawaii and Egypt (Kemet). He plans to continue to combine both InterPlay and Playback in performances and private contract shows. He is also on the InterPlay Sounding Circle in Seattle and the Winkles in Time performance group. He also hopes to work with senior centers and wherever else Spirit leads him. In May, Kawika will be leading a Sunday InterPlay group online called “Awakening The Master Within” on the first Sunday of the month at 10:30 am PST. The first session will be on Sunday, May 5th. Contact him for Zoom link details at: RevKawika@gmail.com

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